'Right Wing Watch' YouTube Account Again Suspended Due to Fmr. Navy Chaplain's Complaint
The YouTube account for a progressive group's watchdog project has once again been suspended in response to the ongoing complaints filed by a former Navy chaplain.
Right Wing Watch, a project of the People For the American Way, had its suspension briefly lifted earlier this week only to have it again removed Thursday due to the efforts of Gordon "Dr. Chaps" Klingenschmitt.
Brian Tashman of Right Wing Watch wrote an entry on the project's website noting that once again RWW has to appeal a decision by YouTube regarding their video collection.
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"Even though Gordon 'Dr. Chaps' Klingenschmitt has lost every single claim of copyright violation he has filed against our YouTube page, due to YouTube's processing system he is able to take the account offline by repeatedly making bogus copyright claims," wrote Tashman.
"We expect our account to be restored again as our videos are protected speech and call on YouTube to more proactively protect users against copyright claim abusers."
In an interview with The Christian Post just before YouTube again suspended the RWW account, Klingenschmitt explained that he considered Right Wing Watch to be a source of defamation.
"Just yesterday they stole another of my videos, which I reported to YouTube, and which has been removed by YouTube," said Klingenschmitt.
"While YouTube has temporarily reinstated their account (which may soon be terminated again), they defame hundreds of Christians like me, including Dr. Dobson, Pat Robertson, and the-late Jerry Falwell."
Right Wing Watch is a project that showcases video footage of various conservative pundits and social commentators, often saying things controversial or inflammatory.
Aside from videos, their monitoring efforts also include information from various written sources by conservative politicians and activists, including action alerts and online opinion pieces.
"Our researchers monitor dozens of broadcasts, emails and websites, and use their expertise on right-wing movements to analyze and distill that information for the general public," reads their website.
"We hope that by shedding light on the activities of right-wing organizations, we can expose the risks that their extreme and intolerant agendas present to our country. We do not endorse the views of groups that we report on."
Earlier this month Klingenschmitt was able to get RWW's YouTube account suspended, arguing that posting videos of him represented copyright infringement and that death threats in the comments section should be removed.
RWW members have argued that the videos of Klingenschmitt and others they have posted fall under fair use and thus do not violate any rules. They further add that they do not have control over the comments section's content.
In an earlier interview with The Christian Post, People For the American Way spokesperson Layne Amerikaner explained that RWW has successfully weathered allegations in the past.
"Each of these videos has ultimately been restored after going through YouTube's standard review process," said Amerikaner.
"It's clear that Mr. Klingenschmitt would like to hide his record of bigoted and dangerous comments. Unfortunately for him, we'll continue to write about his ongoing campaign of dishonest smears aimed at stoking hatred of LGBT people."
